Trucking companies are warning shippers that a regulation requiring fleets to switch from automatic on-board recording devices to electronic-logging devices in December could slow productivity more than some realize.

VIDEO: With an electronic logging device (ELD) rule set to take effect this year, the Canadian container shipping industry is working to mitigate anticipated trucking pressures as the mandate will tighten capacity. JOC Executive Editor Mark Szakonyi spoke with Groupe Robert Vice President Martin Roy, and OEC Group President and CEO Marc Bibeau on how beneficial cargo owners can work with their transportation providers to mitigate. Those tactics are one of the various subjects that will be addressed at JOC’s Canada Trade Conference on June 3-5 in Toronto. https://events.joc.com/canada-trade-2019

The electronic logging device transition period has passed and the trucking industry has found a new normal. On the rails, intermodal volume has grown each week, year over year, except week one. What do the aforementioned mean for rates and capacity for each?

“Absent a rebound this week, the anticipated holiday peak for van freight appears to be muted,” DAT said in a statement. Even so, another feature of the US economy continues to bode well for freight demand.

The FMCSA published 10 decisions rejecting petitions for ELD exemptions Friday, a sign the agency has drawn a sharp line when it comes to pleas for relief from the year-old rule. Instead, expect more focus on the hours of service rules themselves.

Collaboration is not just an activity, but a process, and it requires a focus on customer experience, logistics executives told the Traffic Club of Chicago at a Business Development Symposium Wednesday.

The changes across the US transportation landscape, from a trade war with mainland China to seemingly unstoppable e-commerce growth, require from logistics managers a drill-like precision and agility and closer collaboration with carriers.

Keep this in mind: Every innovation in technology and transportation since the fax machine was invented, that was intended to disrupt or to disintermediate, was adopted and deployed first by 3PLs and carriers. Hence, your action item lies with your 3PLs and their carrier partners.

Commentary

David Correll, research scientist, MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics

The electronic logging device means big data analysis is possible across the trucking/logistics sphere — and that opens up a world of opportunities for improved efficiency, fleet optimization, and more.